Have you heard of the term agriburbia? If not then this panel discussion that took place during the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Conference will be helpful. The panel was titled, “Fraser Valley: is there room for big agriculture in a small setting?” This tied in with the theme of the conference. Our panelists were Dr. Lenore Newman, Canada Research Chair for Food Security and the Environment at the University of the Fraser Valley (on left) and Kim Sutherland, Regional Agrologist with the BC Ministry of Agriculture. You can find information about Dr. Newman’s research at the Agriburban Research Centre.

Dr. Newman gave a broad overview of the concept and Kim had a lot of detailed information. Dr. Newman made a prediction, “One of the strong future branches of agriculture is going to be suburban.” She’s not suggesting that urban farming can feed the world but that suburban areas like so many that surround large urban centers are where the action will be.

You can listen to the presentation here: Understanding Ariburbia

2013 Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Photo Album